


color me coffee

by buljangnan



Category: Awaken-F - Fandom, 乐华七子NEXT | NEX7, 偶像练习生 | Idol Producer (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Fluff, M/M, Unbeta'd, lapslock
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-07-01 02:30:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15764760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buljangnan/pseuds/buljangnan
Summary: zimo is a cosplayer who has a crush on cafe cashier, zhengting, who has a penchant of dying his hair every week.





	color me coffee

**Author's Note:**

> woop de doop. surprise? happy birthday juni! :)
> 
> ps. this is unbeta'd so sorry in advance for any typos/mistakes!

the first time zimo met  _ him _ , zimo was wearing a levi ackerman ensemble and the guy has a half-black/half-white hair and round glasses on. if it weren’t for the uniform the guy is wearing, zimo would think he entered the wrong cafe. he looked at the guy confusedly as he was approaching the counter, which the guy is manning as a cashier.

 

“hi, what can i get you?” the guy smiled at him widely.

 

_ zhengting _ , the nameplate read.

 

“do you need more time choosing?” the gu-- zhengting asked. “you probably should look at the menu though, instead of my name tag.”

 

zimo gasped; he must’ve spaced out for quite a long time. “uh, sorry about that, uh, zhengting,” he lets out, diverting his attention from zhengting’s nameplate to the menu in front of him. he can’t look at the guy’s face in embarrassment so he intently focused on what’s written on the board even though it’s not registering on his flustered mind.

 

zhengting laughed, “you can try our week’s pick if you can’t decide.”

 

“what’s this week’s pick?” zimo answered, too quickly even in flustered-zimo standard. he hates how much this guy has affected him just because he has a half-half colored hair. 

 

he looked at zhengting’s face and stopped a gasp from coming out.  _ how can someone look so beautiful _ , his mind supplied.

 

“ameri--”

 

“you’d look good cosplaying kaneki,” zimo’s mouth let out before he can stop himself. he put his hands over his mouth. “i’m sorry if i freaked yo--”

 

“i don’t know who that is, and i don’t cosplay, but if you, as a cosplayer, think that way, then i guess i should be flattered,” zhengting smiled softly, “thank you.”

 

_ fuck _ , zimo thinks,  _ i may be in love. _ “i’ll just take this week’s pick.”

 

“right,” zhengting smiled widely again, “so that’s one americano. for here or to go?”

 

“to go,” zimo replied. he was supposed to stay at the cafe while waiting for his photographer but he couldn’t do that with zhengting around. he’d just combust.

 

“and your name please?”

 

“zimo,”

 

“well then, we’ll just call you once your drink is done zimo,” it seemed like zhengting hasn’t stopped grinning but zimo felt that it got brighter every single time. he couldn’t even swoon about the way his name sounds when zhengting says it because there are now people lining up behind him.

 

the person who called zimo for his drink was not zhengting, and if zimo said that he wasn’t disappointed, he’d be lying. he should’ve known though, zhengting is on cashier duty after all.

 

###  ⅽ[ː̠̈ː̠̈ː̠̈] ͌ 

 

the second time they meet was a week after. zimo almost did not recognized zhengting because he changed his hair color to green. he came in as zhengting was joking around with a coworker, the tall guy who gave him his coffee the last time he went to the cafe.

 

“i’m still not sure why they placed you on cashier, zhengzheng,” the tall guy smirked, “a second grader’s math is probably better than yours.”

 

zhengting pouted, “don’t be too bitter wenjun, that’s not good.”

 

zimo cleared his throat at that moment. “hi,” he said.

 

“hi,” zhengting greeted back, “what can i get you?” zimo then saw zhengting glaring at wenjun as if he was chasing him away.

 

“what’s your choice of the week?” zimo asked. he’s not really sure what he wanted to get. he just wanted to see if zhengting looked as good as he remembered. he wasn’t able to focus during his shoot last week because of the guy after all.

 

“pick of the week,” zhengting corrected, “and it’s matcha latte.”

 

“i’m getting that then,” zimo grinned at zhengting, feeling his confidence coming like last week’s encounter did not happen.

 

“for here or to go?” 

 

“for here,”

 

“no cosplaying today?” zhengting asked, looking directly at zimo’s face.

 

zimo felt a blush creeping in, “no, last week’s shoot was the last.”

 

zhengting sighed, “i was looking forward to seeing more costumes.” he handed zimo his change.

 

zimo’s face probably looked very red at the moment. to say that he wasn’t thrilled by the idea of zhengting looking forward to his cosplays is a lie. he was more than thrilled, he felt like he could jump from hell to heaven.

 

“i’ll make sure to drop by when we have an event then,” zimo shyly muttered.

 

“great!” zhengting exclaimed, “wenjun over there will give you your latte once it’s done.”

 

###  ⅽ[ː̠̈ː̠̈ː̠̈] ͌ 

 

zimo gushed about how zhengting looked extremely beautiful to almost every single one of his friends. peiyao, one of his friends, even  _ joked  _ that he’ll go to the cafe to ask for zhengting’s number if zimo wouldn’t make a move soon. zimo knew that was not a joke though because peiyao never jokes around.

 

“i went there last week and got the pick of the week,” zimo groaned while rolling on his bed.

 

“didn’t you drink an americano last time even when you knew that your body hates it? what was the flavor of the week this time?” zuo ye asked.

 

zimo’s answer was muffled by the bed sheets, prompting zuo ye to kick him to repeat what he said. “it’s pick of the week, and it’s matcha latte,”

 

“dude,” zuo ye gasped, “you HATE matcha.”

 

zimo groaned, again, “i know.”

 

###  ⅽ[ː̠̈ː̠̈ː̠̈] ͌ 

 

the third time was when he literally bumped into zhengting at his - he later learned that it’s  _ their _ \- college campus. zhengting was running and zimo was not looking ahead, too engrossed with the manga he was reading on his phone. 

 

he apologized to zhengting for bumping into him and found out that the guy was rushing because he has a hair appointment and he could not afford to be late just because his car broke down that morning.

 

“it’s expensive to have beautiful hair,” zhengting said.

 

zimo offered to drive him to the salon, and spent the drive talking.

 

“i’m dying it pink,” zhengting said, like he was boasting or something equivalent to that.

 

zimo laughed, “you’d look beautiful in it whatever color you put anyway.” he felt, rather than saw, zhengting’s body beside him stiffening. was he too straightforward?

 

zhengting’s laugh after that sounded forced, “i know. everyone says that.”

 

the conversation ended there until they reached the salon and zimo wasn’t sure how to save it.

 

“thanks for the ride,” zhengting said, “i’ll see you around zimo.”

 

zimo got out of the car right as zhengting stepped out, “i’ll wait for you to drive you back.”

 

he didn’t wait for zhengting to answer and just walked into the salon. he thought that this way zhengting wouldn’t be able to complain and he’d have time to mull over and try to fix what he said wrong. the sudden shift in zhengting’s aura bothered him especially when they were having fun talking before that.

 

zimo watched zhengting get his hair washed and dyed, noting how zhengting looked so relaxed - as if nothing can bother him. he wished zhengting could also be like that when he’s with him.

 

zhengting’s hair was dyed quicker than zimo expected. he was still lost in his thoughts when a pink-haired zhengting appeared in front of him. 

 

“let’s go?” zhenting said, a small smile on his lips.

 

“if you’re ready,” zimo replied.

 

once they got back in the car, zimo didn’t start the car immediately. he took a deep breath and looked towards zhengting beside him, “so why pink?” zimo cursed himself inwardly, why can’t he just ask him what was wrong.

 

zhengting stared at zimo, clearly in shock at the sudden question. he touched his newly dyed hair and laughed, “i color my hair depending on the cafe’s pick of the week.”

 

“that…” zimo did not expect that, but he thought it made sense so that’s what he said, “that made sense. do they pay for the treatment and dying though?” zimo finally started the car and started driving to the direction of the college campus.

 

“they don’t,” zhengting replied, “i like doing it though. it helps with the sales.”

 

“so what’s this week’s pick?”

 

“that’s a surprise,” zhengting smirked, “you’d have to come if you want to know.”

 

zimo laughed, glad that zhengting is feeling comfortable again, “i’d have to drop by then.”

 

###  ⅽ[ː̠̈ː̠̈ː̠̈] ͌ 

 

the surprise drink turned out to be the famous  _ pinkity drinkity _ that everyone in their campus was raving about. zhengting gushed at him about how he learned to make it just so they could add it to the menu. even though zimo didn’t have the heart to, he had to stop zhengting when he noticed that the line for ordering was getting longer because he was holding zhengting up.

 

###  ⅽ[ː̠̈ː̠̈ː̠̈] ͌ 

 

zimo continued visiting the cafe a few more times, sometimes he came twice a week, and he always ordered ‘the pick of the week’. zhengting’s hair was colored violet at one point (for the violet drink consisting of blackberries which zimo was severely allergic to but doesn’t have the heart to tell zhengting), and then blue the next (at least that one was made with passion iced tea that zimo loved).

 

they didn’t have much time to talk, as zhengting was always busy being the cashier, and they only manage to sneak in a few five minutes talk when the business is not busy. he learned a lot about zhengting like his dogs, wubaiwan and fuli, that he loved more than his own sisters - though zhengting made him promise not to tell anyone that.

 

he also learned about how he hated being called beautiful (as he wanted to be called handsome), which was why his mood plummeted during That Night.

 

zimo found himself falling more and more enamored with zhengting with every five-minute talk, with every laugh, and every tiny detail he learned about the guy. peiyao even asked him how he still had the money to keep going to the cafe when they’re both broke college guys. to which zimo just answered,  _ love makes miracles _ .

 

###  ⅽ[ː̠̈ː̠̈ː̠̈] ͌

 

after that talk with zhengting about That Night, zimo was not able to visit the cafe for two weeks. it was the finals week and as the president of the anime organization, he had a lot of papers to go through aside from his academics. 

 

he kept on whining about missing zhengting to whoever is listening. peiyao and zuo ye kept on chiding at him though for not getting zhengting’s number the last time they saw each other.

 

“you don’t understand,” zimo began, “i can’t just ask his number.”

 

“want me to get his number for you?” peiyao asked, “just let me know which cafe.”

 

“i don’t trust you, so no,” zimo glared at his friend.

 

###  ⅽ[ː̠̈ː̠̈ː̠̈] ͌ 

 

the week zimo was able to drop by the cafe again, he was with peiyao, much to his dismay. he lost a bet against peiyao and that lead the younger to joining him. he tried not to let that cause his excitement to dwindle though - he was going to see zhengting again, and that’s the most important thing.

 

imagine his despair when the cashier ended up to be not-zhengting (the nameplate said  _ zhangjing,  _ which he admit was close to zhengting but they looked nothing alike). zimo let out a big sigh of disappointment, making peiyao look at him weirdly.

 

“zhengting’s not around,” zimo explained.

 

peiyao dragged him to the counter, “and you still owe me coffee so we’re ordering.”

 

“hi, what can i get you?”

 

zimo sighed again, “two caramel macchiatos.”

 

“for here or to go?” zhangjing smiled. zimo still thought that zhengting’s smile looked prettier.

 

“to go,” peiyao answered for zimo.

 

“name please?”

 

“zimo,” he replied.

 

zhangjing stilled and stared at zimo, “oh so you’re zimo.”

 

“what?” zimo looked at zhangjing confusedly.  _ what does he mean by that?  _

 

zhangjing just smiled and said his spiel of “we’ll just call your name once your drink is done! have a great day!”

 

zimo walked to the side of the cafe to wait for their drinks, frowning. he wondered what zhangjing meant by  _ oh so you’re zimo _ ? did people talk about him? did  _ zhengting _ talk about him? he felt his heart skip a beat before someone stepped on his foot.

 

“earth to zimo,” peiyao said, handing over one of the cups he’s holding to zimo. he also dug through his pants’ pocket and retrieved a paper from it to give to zimo.

 

“what’s this?” zimo asked, trying to open the folded paper with just one hand.

 

“zhengting’s phone number,” peiyao shrugged, “i got it from zhangjing while you were spacing out. he said zhengting was sad you didn’t come for two weeks and got sick.”

 

###  ⅽ[ː̠̈ː̠̈ː̠̈] ͌ 

 

zimo knew he should’ve sent a text message to introduce himself first before calling, but he was anxious. he made zhengting sick just because he was such a coward to get his number - in zimo’s mind, this wouldn’t have happened if he got zhengting’s number on any of the occasions they talked (which was quite a lot). maybe then he would’ve been able to text zhengting that he couldn’t go to the cafe. zhengting wouldn’t have a reason to be sad.

 

“hello?” zimo heard the voice from the other line speak, sounding weak. zimo’s heart hurted. “who’s calling?”

 

zimo took in a deep breath, “hey.” he cleared his throat. he didn’t know why he was feeling so nervous when it literally was just a phone call and they already talked face to face before. “it’s zimo.”

 

“cosplayer zimo?” confusion was dripping from zhengtin’s voice even over the phone, and zimo found it adorable. 

 

“do you know any other zimo?” he decided to tease. teasing was casual, and unnerving.

 

he heard zhengting’s laugh which made him smile. 

 

“so,” zhengting’s tone turned playful, “where did you get my number?”

 

“oh right,” zimo exclaimed, suddenly remembering why he called, “your workmate said you’re sick.”

 

“sick?” 

 

“yeah,” zimo bit his lips. at this point, he was unsure of what he wanted to accomplish with this call. “he said you got sick because--”

 

“i’m not sick,” zhengting replied casually.

 

zimo suddenly became the one confused. “then why weren’t you at the cafe today?”

 

“i took the night shift last night,” zhengting explained, “which is why i was sleeping when you called.”

 

“oh,” zimo felt disappointed - of course he didn’t want zhengting to be sick it’s just that - “so you didn’t get sick because you were too sad that i didn’t drop by for two weeks?”

 

zhengting laughed again, loudly this time. zimo got concerned when he didn’t hear anything on the other line for so long; he thought the call got disconnected. it wasn’t until he heard zhengting say, “i was too sad because of that, but i did not get sick.”

 

to say that zimo’s heart leapt out of his chest is an understatement, he felt like his entire body leapt out to the outer space. “where are you right now?” zimo said.

 

“my dorm,” zhengting replied, “why?”

 

“i was sadder when i didn’t see you for two weeks,” zimo took a deep breath. “i’m trying to remedy that.”

 

“oh?”

 

“yeah,” zimo let out, feeling more confident than he was earlier. “so maybe tell me your dorm’s address and your room number, or we can meet at the cafe.”

 

“i see,” zhengting must’ve been smiling - his voice sounded amused rather than appalled and that was all the encouragement zimo needed. “i’ll text you my dorm address. hurry up or i’ll go back to sleep.”

 

zimo wasn’t sure if zhengting was challenging him or if he was just playing, but he wouldn’t risk it. “send it now so i can be there in less than ten minutes.”

 

###  ⅽ[ː̠̈ː̠̈ː̠̈] ͌ 

 

zimo, true to his words, arrived in front of zhengting’s dorm in less than ten minutes. fourteen seconds before nine minutes to be exact. he suddenly got nervous as soon as he saw zhengting’s door, wondering what came over him earlier.

 

“were you ever going to knock or were you just waiting for me to open the door by the ten-minute mark?” zhengting said. zimo didn’t even see the door open, he was too distracted. but now that he was in front of zhengting himself, he took the time to stare at the guy, totally forgetting that he was asked a question. 

 

zhengting was still in an oversized shirt, looking cute like one of the shoujo manga characters zimo used to have huge crushes on. his hair was blonde, way different from when zimo last saw him in pink, but still as gorgeous.

 

zimo didn’t notice when zhengting decided to come nearer to him with their faces almost touching. what he did notice though is zhengting’s eyelashes and--

 

“ow!” zimo exclaimed, rubbing his right hand on his left shoulder. “why did you punch me?” 

 

“why were you staring at me?” zhengting countered.

 

“i missed you,” zimo’s friends told him that he’s very straightforward at the wrong times, so he started to wonder if it was the wrong time when zhengting visibly froze - the playful smile from earlier already gone.

 

“are you not coming in?” was the only thing zhengting replied, walking back to the living room and sitting down the couch.

 

zimo followed, sitting down beside zhengting but still giving him enough personal space.

 

“what do you want to drink?” zhengting looked at zimo’s direction - as if he himself was testing the waters and it was not just zimo who felt the attraction.

 

“the pick of the week please,” he smiled at zhengting, tone teasing but he knew that it somehow became their thing.

 

zhengting laughed, hitting zimo’s shoulder again, the same one he hit earlier. “i can’t make a caramel macchiato here you ass.”

 

“damn,” zimo said, “that’s my favorite.”

 

zhengting raised his brow, “ass?”

 

“i was talking about caramel macchiato, but that works too,” zimo grinned. “are you offering?”

 

“maybe next time when i’m dressed as kaneki,” zhengting winked. zimo felt himself malfunctioning.

 

“kaneki?”

 

“i watched tokyo ghoul because you said i should cosplay as him,” zhengting said. “didn’t know you’re into those kind of guys.”

 

“you watched tokyo ghoul because of me?” zimo screamed in disbelief, prompting zhengting to cover his ears. “i could kiss you right now.”

 

zhengting smirked, “so do it.”

 

and zimo did. he didn’t need to be told twice. especially when zhengting was offering. he must’ve kissed eagerly - too eager, because a few seconds later, zhengting was shoving him off and laughing.

 

“you dork,” zhengting smiled. “i said kiss me, not injure me.”

 

so zimo complied. again. he started with a few pecks, then nibbled on zhengting’s lips softly. he would be as soft as zhengting wanted him to be.

 

“you taste like caramel macchiato,” zimo said. “my favorite.”

 

zhengting pushed him away, “dork.”

 

###  ⅽ[ː̠̈ː̠̈ː̠̈] ͌

**Author's Note:**

> these are actually my planned drinks for each hair color ;n;
> 
> green - matcha  
> pink - pinkitty drink  
> black/white - americano (but zzt added white because only black is too boring)  
> brown - hot chocolate  
> violet - freeze-dried blackberries with coconut milk  
> blue - passion iced tea with soymilk and vanilla syrup  
> blonde - caramel macchiato
> 
> i would've expanded this if not for me rushing it. maybe i'll rewrite in the future. also zimo and zhengting might've been ooc at times :< i'm so sorry.


End file.
